In the Gorkha region north-west of the capital Kathmandu, the epicentre of the magnitude 7.8 quake, some villages had lost 90 per cent of their houses.

The Nepalese government’s chief secretary Leela Mani Paudel said: “We urge foreign countries to give us special relief materials and medical teams. We are really desperate for more foreign expertise to pull through this crisis.”

The death toll from the stricken country has climbed to almost 8,000 people.

This week the European Union approved 20 million euros in financial support and emergency aid to help Nepal deal with the earthquake.

Nepal is one of the world’s poorest nations. Its economy is built largely on tourism, which has itself been devastated by the earthquake.

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